Strings Attached

Chapter Seven

"You guys suck!" she exclaimed, but I could tell she was having fun.

"Oh, don't blame me. It was all my evil mistress's idea!" he exclaimed.

I frowned. "So now it's all my fault, huh?"

"I only leave to serve, Your Eminence," he said, bowing.

I rolled my eyes. "Chicken," I mumbled.

"Theo Harper is not a chicken," he said, bringing a hand to his chest as though he were offended. "And he will prove it to you."

He stared at me with a wicked grin, and I gulped, knowing my time being dry was once again over.

I tried to run, but Theodore was faster. He grabbed me by the waist and started carrying me bridal style.

"Let me go!" I exclaimed, kicking and throwing random punches, none of which made its way to Theodore.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that," he said, smiling. "You see, you have threatened my family, and I cannot afford to lose any more children. I have already lost two, and it has cost me greatly because now I have no one to do the dishes. I only have my last son, Tommy, and if you kidnap him, I will have to do the chores."

Did he seriously just say that? How come that guy never ran out of things to say? It was as though his brain was a nonstop machine that always came up with the craziest ideas it could, but I somehow admired that.

"Please! I will spare your family's life!" I exclaimed.

Theodore winked. "I'd rather not take any risks."

With that said, he jumped inside the pool with me still in his arms.

I would have slapped him. I would have punched him wherever it hurt the most. But the truth was that I was having fun, and not everyone managed to make me have fun.

Theodore Harper could be a lot of things, but he was not boring at all.

I opened my eyes and stretched my legs and arms. Theodore was sleeping on the sun chair next to mine, which surprised me.

When had I fallen asleep? Maybe it had been after getting out of the pool and sitting on the sun chair. I had been truly exhausted, and Mom had insisted that we stayed a little more. In fact, she and Brianna were still splashing water at each other and fooling around.

Even Theodore had his limits, but Mom and Brianna always seemed to have twice as much energy as any other human being.

I yawned and poked Theodore's nose, but he did not wake up. He kept snoring, and it surprised me how he looked cute even while sleeping.

Seriously, that guy always looked awesome. I wished I could be like him. I wished I could look amazing all the time.

I sighed and poked his nose once again, and this time he wrinkled it, which made him look even cuter. He looked really innocent while he slept. Whoever saw him sleep would not notice how much of a devil the guy could actually be.

I smiled and turned to see the sky. The sun was still shining brightly, which kept me from fully contemplating the sky's beauty, but I was still able to see the clouds and the top of the trees.

It was a beautiful sight, really.

I turned to see my surroundings. Kids were playing around, splashing water at each other and laughing as if there were no tomorrow. That was what I really loved about kids, the fact that they would always enjoy the moment without questioning anything else. They never stopped to think about their future or about what would happen once they got out of the pool. They simply enjoyed life, which is what everyone is supposed to do.

Too bad I was too boring to ever enjoy life as much as those kids did. Too bad I would always be the party pooper at every party, and the scolding mother at every family.

I decided to ignore all that and turned to see Mom and Brianna. They both looked genuinely happy. They were swimming around and laughing at each other's occasional jokes. They did not seem to mind that Dad had left us. They never seemed to.

Why was it easier for them to forget how painful Dad's departure was? Why was I the only one who was always hoping for him to come back and lamenting when he did not? How come I was the only one who seemed to never stop thinking about her problems, not even for a while?

I seriously needed to stop thinking about Dad. It had been a year, a whole year! How come I simply did not seem to be able to get over it? Perhaps Mom and Brianna were simply stronger than me, and I hated myself for it. I hated to be weak. I hated not to be strong enough to get over Dad, even when he had gotten over us so easily.

Dad had thrown us away like trash. He had changed his old toys for new ones, and I did not think I would ever be able to forgive him for it. I just felt so devastated, so rejected. I felt as though I had been tossed away like a toy that does not work anymore, but I was not a toy. I was a person, and Mom and Brianna were people, too. Dad had not thought about that when he had decided to abandon us. He had only thought about himself, and I hated him for it. But I also knew I did not really hate him, which made it all more painful.

A tear streamed down my face, but I quickly wiped it away as I noticed that Mom and Brianna were smiling at me. They stared at me with love, with happiness. This family, though incomplete, was more than enough for them, so why could it not be enough for me?

I waved my hand at them and faked a smile, hoping they would not notice that my eyes were becoming teary. I loved them so much. I just wanted them to be happy, and I knew that as long as they were happy, I would be okay. They were everything to me, but I still could not help feeling lost; I could not help feeling incomplete.

"Chris?" I turned around and saw Theodore staring at me with concern in his eyes.

"Yes?" I asked, wiping away the tears before they even got a chance to come out.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded, but Theodore did not seem convinced. He simply sat up and hugged me. It was a quick hug, but it was reassuring. I could feel warmth in my heart, and he made me understand that I was not alone, even when he had not spoken a word.

He let go of the hug and gave me a wry smile. He did not say anything. He understood that I did not want to talk about it.

I liked that he did not ask for any explanations. I liked that he did not try to tell me that everything would be okay. I liked how Theodore simply let me know, without even uttering a word, that he would be there if I ever needed anything. He simply stared at me with that genuine smile of his, the one that could melt a million hearts, and told me that life was too beautiful to waste it crying.